Jolien van Hooff
Assistant Professor | Laboratory of Microbiology | Wageningen University & Research
Evolution of genomes & protein complexes | eukaryotic origins & diversity.
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffComparative Genomics of Unicellular Eukaryotes (San Feliu, Spain): Abstract submission is open, with a short deadline! comparativegenomics2026.com Join us as we explore the most diverse, surprising, and still largely uncharted branches of the eukaryotic tree.
- Reposted by Jolien van Hooff
I am very pleased to share that our database of prokaryotic and viral histones, ProHistoneDB, is now available online at prohistonedb.org. Please also see the accompanying article in J Mol Biol: doi.org/10.1016/j.jm... - Reposted by Jolien van HooffI have a postdoc position in metagenomic exploration available in my group. Candidates with documented experience in phylo & metagenomics and preferably with petabase-scale data mining and GLM workflows are encouraged to apply. Come join us! 🧬🦠💻 Please repost Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
- Come join us! Soon I will be advertising a postdoc vacancy in my group as part of my @erc.europa.eu AdG project 'DARK ROOTS'. Focus of the project will be on phylo- and metagenomic mining of novel prokaryotic lineages. I will soon post a link here - stay tuned, and please repost! #asgardarchaea
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffMicrobial eukaryotes keep challenging assumptions about eukaryotic cell and genome biology. Our upcoming workshop explores the frontier of protist genomics and how it shapes cell biology, ecology and evolution. Please save the date! Talks, posters and ECR events Websites and details coming soon
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffEukaryogenesis was a billion year spree, but the acquisition of mitochondria happened when the party was winding down www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Very nice documentary about the origins of complex life with my PhD advisor Berend Snel @binfutrecht.bsky.social!
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffOK, somebody should say it: the term 'one-stop-shop' has no place in academic research. Due to their diverse and exploratory nature, there is no single solution for scientific projects - else this would be routine research. RT if you agree, or feel free to argue otherwise below.
- Newbies in the lab! Very happy to announce @jongpad.bsky.social starting a PhD and @oggenfussursula.bsky.social starting a postdoc position with us @mib-wur.bsky.social. Excited to have you around!
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffBecome my colleague @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social ! 2 Associate Professorships in the areas of - prokaryotic/eukaryotic microbiology - metabolism my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffWe are looking for a 3-year postdoc to work with Daniel Probst, Justin van der Hooft and myself on an exciting project involving federated learning and integrative omics for discovery of new antibiotics from natural products. Apply here: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p... Please share!
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffWe are looking for a student to continue our work on chromatin evolution: www.nature.com/articles/s41... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... The project with @seanamontgomery.bsky.social will focus on chromatin state readers across eukaryotes. More info: recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffPlease re-post: If you know (or are!) somebody who might fancy doing a PhD (Oct 2026 start) in my group @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social, working on chromatin evolution in prokaryotes (or other things we're interested in), please have a look at www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/supervisors-...
- Congrats to the team for releasing this preprint and tool! @stephkoe.bsky.social @kassipan.bsky.social @danieltamarit.bsky.social @ettema.bsky.social
- 1. 🧵 New preprint out! WitChi: a fast, open-source Python tool to detect, quantify & prune compositional bias in MSAs. Lightweight, tree-free, scalable to 5k+ taxa... so we applied it to the GTDB archaea MSA. #ArchaeaSky #MEvoSky #MicroSky 🔗 doi.org/10.1101/2025... 💻 github.com/stephkoest/w...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffApply to our PhD program!!
- 🧬 Looking for a PhD position in molecular or developmental biology? 🔬 ✉️ The Hubrecht Institute now has its very own PhD program! Applications are open and will be accepted until September 15th. Read more here 👉 www.hubrecht.eu/hipp/
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffHappy to see our work published and glad to have contributed together with @maxraas.bsky.social ! Looking forward to all the projects that will come out of this work!
- Excited to share our new paper in @cellreports.bsky.social that reshapes our understanding of chromosome organization's deep evolutionary roots! Our work dives into the origins of the machinery that structures our very genomes. 🔗: doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... #Genomics #Evolution #CellBiology #LECA
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffExcited to share our new paper in @cellreports.bsky.social that reshapes our understanding of chromosome organization's deep evolutionary roots! Our work dives into the origins of the machinery that structures our very genomes. 🔗: doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... #Genomics #Evolution #CellBiology #LECA
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffWe’ve uncovered Asgard chromatin structures formed by a Hodarchaeal histone : closed hypernucleosome conserved in archaea and an open form resembling the H3-H4 eukaryotic octasome. Fantastic work by @harshranawat.bsky.social! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #Chromatin #Asgard #Archaea #cryoEM
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffWageningen University seeks a postdoc for a 2-year project on phage-host-superhost evolution using spatially explicit modeling. PhD required. Apply: wur.nl/en/vacancy/postdoct… #postdoc
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffOn this day, 10 years ago, my lab published the @nature.com paper reporting the discovery of the Asgard archaea (Lokiarchaeota at the time), revealing the archaeal nature of eukaryotic cells, and reshaping the Tree of Life. What a ride it has been since then... www.nature.com/articles/nat...
- This promises to be a cool PhD project with a very inspiring and nice PI!
- New vacancy in my team! PhD student position on microbial genome evolution, focusing on the evolutionary principles underlying bacterial genome architecture. Please repost and share with talented MSc students in #evobio, bioinformatics or related :) www.uu.nl/en/organisat... #MEvoSky #MicroSky
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffCheck out our latest work on the evolution of animal genome regulation out today in @nature.com. Nicely summarized below by @ianakim.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41... This is a major output from our ERC-StG project Evocellmap @erc.europa.eu at @crg.eu
- I’m very excited to share our work on the early evolution of animal regulatory genome architecture - the main project of my postdoc, carried out across two wonderful and inspirational labs of @arnausebe.bsky.social and @mamartirenom.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffOne week left to submit your abstract! @eseb2025.bsky.social
- #ESEB2025 Exciting symposium alert: (S50) Unravelling the origin of eukaryotes. 🦑🌴 With speakers Purificación López-García and Mark Field. We are looking forward to your abstract submissions! eseb2025.com/list-of-symp... @julianvosseberg.bsky.social
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffPreprint alert! I’m publishing my last paper from my postdoc work on archaeal cell biology, with @mullinslab.bsky.social, @archaellum.bsky.social, @samjlord.bsky.social, @marleenvw.bsky.social, @arghya93.bsky.social, and more great folks (thread below with more details)
- Archaeal SegAB forms a bipolar structure that promotes chromosome segregation in spherical cells biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffNew postdoc position in our lab (2 y+): evolutionary genomics of integrons and MGEs with focus on vibrio-phage interactions. Great environment @pasteur.fr for science, career building. Super collaborators @celineloot.bsky.social @amazeld.bsky.social @fredoleroux.bsky.social 3 weeks to apply!
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffThe problem with most machine-based random number generators is that they’re not TRULY random, so if you need genuine randomness it is sometimes necessary to link your code to an external random process like a physical noise source or the current rate of US tariffs on a given country.
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffMy group is hiring a new Postdoc to work on gene regulation and chromatin in Nematostella. Please RT! For more information see here: gahanlab.com tinyurl.com/34xke35d
- Only a few more days to apply for this exciting postdoc position (deadline: 6th of April)!
- Exciting news! I'm looking for a computational biologist to join my lab at Wageningen University & Research! It's a 3-year postdoc position on Holomycota genome architecture and evolution. Spread the word! www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffWe got to tackle three major questions in biology. So if you are interested in... A) The nature of LECA B) The relevance of patchy proteins for cellular models C) The trafficking machinery present in diplonemids have we got a paper for you! authors.elsevier.com/a/1km493QW8S... #protistsonsky
- Reposted by Jolien van Hooff🚨 New paper alert! 🚨 A robustly rooted tree of eukaryotes sheds light on their deep evolutionary ancestry—suggesting that the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA) may have had an excavate-like cell architecture. 🧵🔬 (1/) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffExcited to share our recent work on the evolution of ectomycorrhizal plants! 🌳 🧬 🖥️ doi.org/10.1111/nph.70054 With: Yvet Boele, @puginiercamille.bsky.social, @mbianc.bsky.social, Cyril Libourel, @maximebonhomme.bsky.social, @kellerjeanphd.bsky.social, @pierremarcdelaux.bsky.social A thread: (1/5)
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffPhD position available in Ceske Budejovice (Czechia), funded by ERC KLEPTOS, to study plastid endosymbiosis in kleptoplastidic protists. Are you curious about this process and do you like sampling/cultivation of protists? Join our team by applying here: jobs.bc.cas.cz/en/detail/243 #protistsonsky
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffHappy to share the beautiful structure of a Wadjet SMC complex by @roisnehamelinf.bsky.social, with support from the DCI and @drhonsworth.bsky.social ! This is a type II Wadjet with unique characteristics including a tandem KITE subunit, distinct coiled coil architecture and a deviant hinge.
- Exciting news! I'm looking for a computational biologist to join my lab at Wageningen University & Research! It's a 3-year postdoc position on Holomycota genome architecture and evolution. Spread the word! www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffAsgardarchaea & Alphaproteobacteria: key players for the assembly eukaryotic central carbon metabolism! Our new study reveals their gene contributions to glycolysis & TCA cycle, supporting synthrophic scenarios of eukaryogenesis. rdcu.be/eb0aK
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffCongratulations to our very own John van der Oost!!!! #BeijerinckPrize
- @mib-wur.bsky.social Congratulations John for winning the #Beijerinck Prize!
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffJoin our lab in Amsterdam. We are looking for a Netherlands-based Technician/Analist (MBO-4 level) to apply advanced microscopy, imaging, and molecular techniques to study fungal-plant interactions. 2-yr position See link for details. Applications due Feb 23rd. workingat.vu.nl/vacancies/te...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffOur latest work: how can compartmentalization emerge in a eukaryotic genome lacking canonical heterochromatin? By investigating bacterial genomes put in yeast, we show that the presence or absence of transcription is sufficient! #chromatin #3Dgenome #generegulation www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 👇
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffFun little Q&A! Thank you for the opportunity Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social www.cell.com/current-biol...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffHey 🦋 people and especially archaea friends, I made a starter pack with the current team of the Ettema lab by @ettema.bsky.social on this platform :) go.bsky.app/MzZPftEat://did:plc:5pucg2ahvlg7mdl7dwmbcnyt/app.bsky.graph.starterpack/3lchuzs75mt2q
- Reposted by Jolien van Hooff📣New year, new preprint @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social 🎉! A study led by the brilliant @yukiyosato.bsky.social showing that Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in the fungal plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae and drive virulence evolution. 🧵[1/12] doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffI know everything is on fire, literally and existentially, but I'm really proud of this paper out today, led by my lab manager, Kristina Terpis, with some amazing collaborators. We expanded sampling in photosynthetic stramenopiles and show total plastid loss twice! www.cell.com/current-biol...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffNEW preprint!🥳 Orthogroups are a prerequisite for comparative genomics and Tree of Life inquiries Introducing #OrthoHMM, software that improves the inference of orthogroups (blue in fig) OrthoHMM may refine our understanding of genome evolution and the Tree of Life 🔗 tinyurl.com/4s9mwxz6 🧵 1/8
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffWe have an opening for a 4-year postdoc position to study the #rhizosphere #microbiome in @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social @w-u-r.bsky.social, joint project with @marnixmedema.bsky.social in the context of MiCRop. Please tag/forward this to potential candidates and/or repost: www.uu.nl/en/organisat...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffI am looking for an ERC-funded postdoc to work on spatial proteomics of microalgae (red algae and glaucophytes). The ideal candidate will have experience with mass spec and data analysis (R), but above all a keen interest in broad eukaryote evolution and protists #protistsonsky (1/2)
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffHave questions about #bioinformatics, #genomics, #evolution or stuck on a project? 🧬💻 I want to help! Happy to discuss data, figures, writing, academia/industry or chatting just for kicks—no strings attached Drop questions below, DM, or schedule a meeting Science together is better than alone 🙌
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffInstitut Pasteur 2025 call for group leader ! A fantastic place to do science in a great city. Have a look, repost and don't hesitate to reach out for more info...
- We are opening a call for applications 2025 – Creation of new junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur in Paris @pasteur.fr all details on our web site : research.pasteur.fr/en/call/call...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffCome join us!!
- We have an opening for a 4-year postdoc position to study the #rhizosphere #microbiome in @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social @w-u-r.bsky.social, joint project with @marnixmedema.bsky.social in the context of MiCRop. Please tag/forward this to potential candidates and/or repost: www.uu.nl/en/organisat...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffFully Funded PhD Opportunity in Evolutionary Biology at the U of Rhode Island. Join us to explore the origin and early evolution of eukaryotes using cutting-edge comparative (meta)genomics and molecular evolution approaches. Applications are due December 15th. Contact me ASAP at laura.eme@uri.edu
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffReconstructing the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffUnderstanding the origin of eukaryotic cells is one of the biggest puzzles in biology 🧩 As genomic data expand, painting a clear picture of LECA requires analytical resources and a commitment to data sharing. This paper led by T. R. emphasizes a community-driven approach to tackle this complexity.
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffMany novel Asgard genomes, cultivated Lokiarchaeia, new phylogenetic analyses: what insights do these and other recent studies provide into the enigmatic origin of eukaryotes? In this review in Nature, we discuss the latest findings and open questions: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Want to do a PhD focusing on how complex eukaryotic genomes acquire new genes? Eager to explore how eukaryotic microbes evolve? Come work with us at the Laboratory of Microbiology (Wageningen University & Research)! Apply here: t.co/LfsI4z7cTc Please share and contact me if you want to know more!
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffExciting PhD opportunity with my colleagues in Wageningen. Hilje, the supervisor, is the best teacher I have ever met. If you're looking for a cool modelling project, I say go for it! :) www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffDear (Environmental) Microbiologists! Does anyone have recommendations for a Flow Cytometer? Particularly, with the ability to separate small particles and microbes. Curious to hear what works well in your hands! #ArchaeaSky #MicroSky
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffAnyone interested in Aurora B kinase, trypanosomes, and/or kinetochores? In this preprint just published in bioRxiv, we characterized the role of Aurora B on kinetochore and cell cycle regulation in the kinetoplastid parasite Trypanosoma brucei www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffFirst major work fully made in the laboratory is out in @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... DNA methylation allows recurrent endogenization of giant viruses in a #protist 🦠 closely related to animals, an unprecedented example of virus and eukaryotic host genomic mixture.
- Reposted by Jolien van HooffShaping up genomes: Prokaryotic roots and eukaryotic diversification of SMC complexes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.07.573240v1
